What If
by GameFreakimage
Summary: A What If scenario about what could have been if Michael had been accepted by his grandfather and if Lyn's mother and father were to be acknowledged by her grandfather. Contains slight spoilers for content to later be revealed in Rekka No Ken Retold. This will be a short story spanning only a few chapters (At least as planned for now).
1. Chapter 1: What If - Michael

**Author's Notes: **Hey, all! This is just a random idea that sprouted in my head while I was out at Lifetime and decided that I just had to put it down on paper. By the description, this fic will be MUCH more idealistic and positive with both character's family relationships then in the actual canon. I intend for this to be only several chapters, so expect a lot of timeskips so I can get to the intended scenes faster. Of course, that may not necessarily be the case and I'll end up making this thing longer than I intended if inspiration or scenes hit me with more ideas/relationships to flesh out.

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What If: Michael

When the marquess of Araphen first heard the news of his son and lover being pregnant, he was beside himself with fury. Blame it on the cultural norms he was raised on when he was a child, but bastard children were looked upon in disdain because of their perceived desire to be born before it was appropriate, along with the many examples throughout Elibian history of those very same children growing into ambitious and power-hungry adults that raised armies to conquer nations. As if to add insult to the already grievous injury, this had all transpired while his son was visiting Caelin to court the marquess's own daughter. This insult from his son would never be forgotten.

However, that did not remain the case. Over the following months, both the marquess's son and his new daughter-in-law gradually melted the ice that he had used to incase his heart. Though the marquess tried stubbornly to remain fixed on his ways, he was eventually proven wrong by his new, ever-growing family. A family that only grew larger once his grandson was born. Looking into the newborn's eyes, the marquess could not find it in himself to hate the child, experiencing the same mixture of happiness and doubt when his own son was born. This child would prove himself to surpass whatever examples history had remembered.

As the years began to steadily pass by and the seasons changed, the child began to grow from a newborn to a toddler. But unlike so many other children, he was patient, well behaved, intelligent, and shy to a fault. But nevertheless, everyone that resided within the castle treated the young boy as the greatest treasure in all the world.

"Grandpa?" the young child asked as he looked up to the marquess, who was busy writing a letter to another member of the aristocracy several territories away.

"Hm?" the marquess grunted as he put down his quill pen and turned around in his seat, "Ah, Michael! What is the matter, little one?"

"I want…never mind!" the young Michael hesitated as he began to turn around to leave his grandfather alone.

"Hey!" the marquess commanded, "Come back here! What were you going to say?" It struck the marquess as strange how his adorable grandson suddenly changed what he was going to say, as if he thought it would be either too bothersome or unimportant.

"Um…" Michael stalled as he took to looking at his feet, "It can wait…"

"Come now," the marquess chuckled as he pulled himself off his seat, "I'm not doing anything important right now. Go ahead; ask away. Tell Grandpa what you wanted to say."

"I wanted to go into the library…" Michael mumbled to the floor as he tried to keep from making eye contact with his grandfather.

The marquess sighed to himself as he let out a small chuckle, "Is that all? Of course I can take you there!"

"Really?!" Michael exclaimed as he shot his head up to his grandfather, a look of excitement in his eyes, almost making them appear to be sparkling.

"Of course!" the marquess nodded as he picked up Michael into his arms, "You never have to feel like a bother when you want to go to the library. I think it's great that you want to go there without being told to!"

"Can we go now?" Michael asked his grandfather as he began to squirm with excitement in his grandfather's arms.

"Of course!" the marquess told him as he lightly threw his grandson into the air before catching him, "Come now, and let's be on our way!"

The marquess wouldn't be the first one to say that the castle library was a large one, nor would he be the first to brag that its selection of books was the finest in the land. But one most definitely could read one book ever day for the rest of their life and never finish reading all of them. The marquess would know, he tried doing that in his younger years before he became betrothed to his wife. Bless her poor departed soul.

"Which book do you want?" the marquess asked, thinking his grandson would want the book with the most pictures or the biggest words. Both of which he would have to gather the support of several castle staff to locate.

"I want…" Michael thought aloud as he tried to recall what the name of the book was, "The Scouring book!"

"The Scouring?" the marquess repeated, "That's the legend of the eight heroes and how they saved the world from dragons. Why would you want that one? Surely you've heard the legends from bards and your parents?"

"I wanna read it myself!" Michael assured his grandfather as he shook his head furiously.

The marquess laughed loudly as he walked over to a table near some of the bookshelves and placed his grandson in one of the seats. "Very well," he told him, "Since you want such a popular book, it won't take too long for Grandpa to find."

It took several minutes of investigation and examination, but the marquess finally found the book his grandson so desperately wanted to read tucked away between two books that were biographies on the lives of two of the war's heroes; the Archsage Athos and the Enigmatic Bramimond. Taking the book off its shelf, the marquess carefully blew away the layers of dust that had slowly accumulated over the cover while in its period of disuse. The words were almost completely faded, but the marquess could still make out its title; _The Legend of the Ending Winter and the Eight Heroes._

Flipping through the pages to briefly skim the contents before handing it over to his grandson, the marquess was surprised to find that there were few pictures within the pages, leaving almost all of the book to recounting the details and events of almost one thousand years ago. He didn't know how much fun Michael would have with the book, but he was sure that he would tire of it fast. Closing the book with his left hand, the marquess walked back over to his grandson and gently placed the book down in front of him.

With great eagerness, Michael opened up the book to its first page, and with quite the shock to the marquess, began to read the story, sometimes stopping to pronounce longer words aloud, occasionally stopping to look up at the marquess to see if he was pronouncing them correctly. He was correct almost all of the time. "Where did you learn to read like that?" the marquess asked him, "Did Camael and Gabriel teach you?"

"No," Michael shook his head as he looked back down to the story, "Jeigan taught me! But he didn't start teaching me until he caught me reading in the library by myself…"

"Jeigan?" the marquess repeated, "My brother did always enjoy surprising me… But to think you can read at such a young age, and so well too! Aren't you the little prodigy?!"

Michael looked up to his grandfather with a huge beaming smile, "Jeigan told me you'd be surprised! He also told me to always ask for someone before coming into the library…"

"Which reminds me," the marquess began to say as he remembered something, "Aren't you still too small to reach up for the knob by yourself? How did you get in?"

"The door was unlocked!" Michael replied with a smile, "Jeigan forgot to close it when he went in and I came in a little while after!"

"I fear I may have to get old Martin to get out of retirement early it seems…" the marquess muttered to himself.

"What?" Michael asked, not sure what his grandfather had said, but still just hearing him say something.

"Nothing!" the marquess sang as he ruffled his grandson's hair, "But what do you say to having someone teach you things, hm? You can read books even when you aren't in the library!"

"I think you'll have to ask Mommy and Daddy first, Grandpa!" Michael told his grandfather, "But they don't know I can read yet…"

"How about we surprise them at dinner time tonight?" the marquess asked his grandson, "You can read from this very book to them before we eat."

"Yeah!" Michael agreed as he nodded his head furiously, "And they told me they had something important to tell me at dinner, too!"

"It seems dinner shall be lively tonight then, it seems!" the marquess smiled.

Later that night, two parents were shocked and awed to find their three year old son was already able to read. And a young child and a grandfather were surprised and elated with the news that he would soon be a big brother.

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**Author's Notes: **I realize that having a three year old being able to read at any level of proficiency dangles on people's suspension of disbelief enough as is, but I hope you all can excuse that. Plus, Michael (In this timeline he doesn't have Mark as his first name) isn't the run-of-the-mill kid.

I felt a little warm and fuzzy writing this, especially when I think about the canon of my story. Hope you guys will still act surprised when Jeigan's relationship to the marquess is revealed in the fic! *sweatdrop*


	2. Chapter 2: What If - Lyn

**Author's Notes: **Here's part two! Now for a little Lyn action. Though I'm surprised to see it's mostly her parent's interacting in this. Oh well, it comes with the mystery of two characters that only exist posthumously in canon. I feel like the next part will be amazing. After all, Lyn and Michael will have their first meeting!

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What If: Lyn

This young girl's story, much like Michael's, began with her parents. Her mother was the only daughter and heiress of Caelin, a close friend to Araphen. Her father, however, was the future chieftain of the Lorca tribe, one of the major tribes of Sacae, a country made up of nomadic groups.

They met on that fateful day when Madelyn, the marquess of Caelin's daughter, decided to go to Bulgar, the trading capital of Sacae, on a flight of fancy, something she often did because of her youth. Her father, Hassar, was in the city as a merchant, selling the carved furs and pottery of his tribe in order to buy medicine for them to use during the winter months. It was love at first sight. Over the course of a month, the two found themselves inseparable.

But with their love came two problems: the fate of the Lorca tribe since their future leader wished to be with his beloved and his beloved's father, whom as the marquess of Caelin, would either frown upon their union or wish for them to stay in Caelin and rule once he ceded leadership over to his son-in-law.

It took several months to convince her father of their love, but eventually, Hausen gave his blessing to the pair, and within the year, they had two weddings; one official ceremony in Caelin and another in Sacae, in the old tradition. They would spend half of the year in Sacae and the other half in Caelin. That way, neither territory nor tribe would be bereft of a leader. Within the first year of their marriage, they were expecting their first child.

To the joy of both, it was a girl, named Lyndis in memory of Madelyn's late mother, who died well into her early childhood. She inherited her mother's looks and her father's love for the plains. With her parent's tender embrace and two whole families to support her and watch over her growth, the young girl grew into an adorable little angel.

And the seasons and the years passed.

"Mom!" a young Lyn shouted as she ran across the plains of Sacae as she returned from a small hunting trip with her father, "Mom, look what we caught!"

An older woman, almost the spitting image of Lyn, except her hair was brown, looked up in response to her name from reading a letter as her daughter jumped into her arms, "Oh! Did you now? Did you have fun hunting with your father?"

"Tons of fun!" Lyn exclaimed as she nuzzled herself more into her mother's embrace.

"It was indeed a fun trip," an older man laughed as he stopped next to Madelyn. His appearance was rugged and wild, but his blue eyes were like a window reflecting a strong will. His long forest green hair fell past his shoulders as he dragged a carcass of a red fox, "You should have come along. Lyndis would have been thrilled to have us all there."

"Sorry," Madelyn apologized as she hugged her daughter more tightly, "But I was waiting for my letter from Father. You know he always keeps a strict schedule on when he sends his letters."

"Ah, yes…" Hassan nodded in understanding as he closed his eyes, "I can see him now; crying over his letter as he pleads for his adorable daughter and granddaughter to come back and pay him a visit. He can't last more than a month without seeing either of you."

"Now, now," Madelyn sighed, "You know how my Father gets. Half his letter was just him saying how much he misses us all. You included, by the way. The other half on the other hand, refers to some political duties we shall have to fulfil once we return to Caelin."

"Uh oh," Hassan sighed as he laid the fox down and took a seat next to her, "What is it this time? Not more unrest or bandit problems again I hope."

"Oh no!" Madelyn assured him as she shook her head, "Nothing that serious. It's just that the marquess of Araphen is going to be visiting in a few months and he's going to be bringing his grandson with him. My father was hoping we would be there in time for Lyndis to play with him. The boy's around her age as well, being seven years old."

"Ugh…!" Lyn groaned as she squirmed in her mother's arms, "I don't wanna play with a stranger just because Grandpa wants me too!"

"Ahahahaha!" Hassan laughed, "See? Our daughter knows the score! She doesn't want to mix with the fuddy duddy nobility! She wants to play and frolic in the sun!"

"I wanna hunt with you, Dad!" Lyn corrected him, "I wanna, I wanna, I wanna!"

"But you're still too young to hold a bow on your own," her father pointed out, "You'll end up hitting a hunter in the arse with an arrow. Trust me, nothing is worse than a Sacaean hunter with a bow in his bum." Lyn giggled like a toddler as her father's joke.

"Hassan!" Madelyn scolded him, "What did we agree on regarding language around Lyndis?! Must you really break that agreement so soon?!"

"Relax," Hassan told him wife as he waved a dismissing hand her way, "She's heard way worse while on hunts. Hunters don't watch their language when their quarry can't understand them…or are too far away for them to hear."

"No more hunting trips for you, young lady," Madelyn told her daughter with a stern tone as she waved a finger at her, "You're going to start staying in view of the village more often."

"But Mom!" Lyn whined, "I don't like playing with the grandmas! They always tell me to play with the grass or try to show me how to cook!"

"Cooking helps you find a husband!" Madelyn told her daughter, "You'll need those skills later on!"

"First of all," Hassan interrupted the two, "She's still young. She can start learning at any time. Second, under no circumstances, will Lyndis ever go searching for a man. I'll make sure she meets the perfect young man myself. Of course, no such man exists in this world." His tone was slightly angry as he spoke, as if imagining his daughter betrothed to some random young man gave him nothing but pain.

"Last time I checked, we both fell for each other. And my Father didn't approve," Madelyn countered, "Why should Lyndis be any different?"

"Because she's my daughter!" Hassan struck back, "And with Mother Earth and Father Sky as my witnesses, I shall never hand her over to anyone who I don't deem fit for her!"

"Mom," Lyn grabbed at her mother's dress as she watched her father yell at the sky, "Dad's scaring me…"

At those words, Hassan quickly shot back to his more easygoing persona, "What?! I'm not scary! Nope, no sir, no way! Only smiles from me!" To prove his point, Hassan wore the biggest and goofiest smile he could possible conjure up.

Lyn responded by burying her face inside her mother's clothes as she began to sob, "Dad's scary!"

"Scary?!" Hassan repeated as he fell to his knees in defeat, "Me? Scary? No way. I can't. My daughter… Scared...of me…!"

"I think you broke your father, dearie…" Madelyn said with an awkward laugh as she tried to pull Lyn's face out of her chest, "Come on now, it's time to stop tormenting your father!"

"But I love doing that…!" Lyn whispered into her ear before shooting her face back into her mother's clothes.

"Our daughter has you wrapped around her little fingers," Madelyn told her husband as she shot him a look of pity and disappointment.

"So she's daddy's Little Sacaean Princess," Hassan admitted, "You're just as guilty as I am."

"I'll have you know she's a Little Caelin Princess!" Madelyn countered, "Don't forget where she was born!"

"But that was only because we had to delay our trip back to Sacae…" Hassan muttered to himself.

"What was that, darling?" Madelyn asked in a threatening tone, "Don't forget, for a pampered noble, I adjusted to life on the plains extremely quickly. Do I need to show you my skill with a sword? You more than anyone should know how good I am, teacher."

"Eh…" Hassan said as he struggled for some witty remark, "No thank you, I don't want to end up black and blue. Lyn, honey, maybe you want to say something to Mommy?"

"Both of you should stop fighting," Lyn told them both before jumping out of her mother's arms, rolling in the grass before jumping back onto her feet several feet away, "I'm going to go for a swim in the lake down by the hill!"

"Be careful!" Madelyn shouted out to her daughter as she watched her run off, "I don't want you getting hurt!"

"When has she ever gotten hurt?" Hassan asked her. He most certainly didn't remember Lyn ever getting any injuries worth worrying over.

Madelyn gave her husband an evil stare, "Would you like me to remind you of the cuts and scrapes she's gotten every time she's gone hunting with you?"

"But those weren't my fault!" Hassan quickly told her in self-defense, "You can't blame me for that!"

Madelyn ignored her husband as she went back to reading her Father's letter, "If I remember correctly, Camael is that boy's father. He was one of my suitors…or was supposed to be. I wonder how he met his wife… As far as I know, she was a commoner."

"He was one of you what?" Hassan asked for clarification, knowing full well what she had said. He knew Madelyn had had suitors lined up at her door competing for her hand in marriage, but that didn't mean he liked the idea of any of those men meeting her again. They had each come from two different worlds, but they had come to understand and love each other's worlds as much as they loved their own. They just didn't show it as much.

"Oh, don't give me that look!" Madelyn told her husband, "You know you're the only man for me in my life. Well, besides my Father that is."

"Let's keep it that way" Hassan pouted.

Madelyn giggled to herself, "I take it you don't want a son then?"

"Hell no!" Hassan replied with great passion.

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**Author's Notes: **I know it isn't Rekka No ken, but I'm currently over 3000 words into 15B. I plan on making it longer than my usual chapters. Maybe around 8000 words. Hopefully it will be ready by Thursday. If not, Friday for sure.


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